


Haunted

by Embarassedbutkinky



Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: Angst, Demons, Enemies to Lovers, F/M, Falling In Love, Flirting, Ghost Hunters, Haunting, Paranormal, Paranormal Investigators, Poltergeists, Psychic Abilities
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-04
Updated: 2019-08-11
Packaged: 2020-07-30 18:37:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 18,851
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20101795
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Embarassedbutkinky/pseuds/Embarassedbutkinky
Summary: Vegeta and Bulma run two separate paranormal investigation teams. They have their reasons, but their shared goal is to find solid evidence that ghosts are real. When they get a chance to investigate the old Capsule Corporation building, the most haunted place in the world, they jump at the chance. Unfortunately, they have to share their great opportunity with each other. They don't know that Capsule Corporation holds a deep secret in it, one that will affect both of their lives. All human AU.





	1. Capsule Corporation

**Author's Note:**

> Hello all! This fic is a little different in that it's already almost finished. That means faster chapters! There's lots of Vegebul goodness ahead, and some Gochi while we're at it.  
Side note: I know Vegeta calls Goku his name instead of Kakarot. It's awkward. All things have a reason, I promise!  
Also, something exciting, I have a talented artist collaborating on this fic with me! We'll get to see her work at some point in the middle of the story 😘.
> 
> Thanks all,   
Embarassedbutkinky

It started with a pothole. Specifically, the giant pothole outside of Spring Mall in West City. The owners of the businesses that leased space throughout the mall put pressure on the property owner to fix the problem, but the tycoon fought it for years. Eventually they argued that technically the pothole was on city property, and therefore it had to be fixed by the local government. The city argued they didn't have it in the budget, and the pothole grew.

Finally, one of the shopkeepers offered a suggestion. Hold an auction, and use the money to fix the disputed issue. That was why someone finally thought of the best idea that West City's government ever had; they would auction off one night at the headquarters of the old Capsule Corporation compound.

The compound had been in government hands for close to a hundred years now. Abram Fawcet, an eccentric inventor and billionaire, had made a name for himself in the town's history by inventing capsulization; a way to shrink goods and place them indefinitely in small portable containers. He'd made a mint in his youth, and built his illustrious compound with plans to live there forever, continuing his work in luxury. 

Unfortunately, his ambition was greater than his ability. Capsules fell out of use except for some government contracts, a stroke of bad fortune. After two years of producing no new material, sales plummeted and he lost the home he'd constructed. It was returned to the bank, and when the bank itself went defunct, it was given to the city.

Despite it's few years of use, the security of the main building was airtight. Fawcet's plans had an excellent system to prevent trespassers, and it was still doing its job well to this day. The city held the only passcode, and it was heavily guarded as they didn't want anyone traipsing through an old building and suing the government when they fell through the floor. 

Many groups had tried to break through the security over the years, but none had succeeded. These weren't just bored teenagers, but professionals who had grown tired of waiting for a permit to explore that would never make it through the red tape of bureaucracy. It wasn't curiosity, not most of the time. Everyone knew what the true treasure of Capsule Corporation was.

It was the most haunted building in the entire world.

Fawcet himself had begun the rumors, shortly after moving into his new home. He claimed he'd hear doors slam and floorboards creak at all hours, though he lived alone. He went further than that; he claimed he heard voices around him all the time, low but not whispering, talking as plainly as if they were in the room with him. In fact, he credited these spirits as being the main reason he couldn't invent anything new in his home; he was constantly on edge, afraid of his own shadow.

Most chalked it up to insanity at first, but when he left the compound he remained a stable, decent inventor for the rest of his life. He swore up and down to his deathbed that the place was a portal to hell, and all virtuous people should stay away from it.

So of course everyone wanted to check it out.

He wasn't the last person to report odd happenings at the home. For the first several decades the city had tried to maintain the building, sending out maintenance crews a few times a year to keep it liveable should anyone ever be able to afford it. Every crew that had stepped inside had a story, and all of them were terrifying. Voices, footsteps, screaming; one man even swore an apparition had charged him with a raised fist and knocked him back twenty feet into a table. Dozens of books had been written about the property and the questions it raised; if it was so unused, where did the ghosts come from? What did they want? Why were they there?

When the word went out that West City was willing to allow one group of people into the compound for a night to do whatever they wanted, thousands of people put in applications with large bids. Some wanted the house to throw a massive haunted party, some as a creepy weekend getaway, but the most common bids came from paranormal research teams. There were hundreds of such organizations across the world that attended the online auction, willing to pay a ridiculous amount of money to experience a true, guaranteed haunting.

\------------------

Vegeta sat in front of his computer, constantly refreshing the page. There were only five remaining bidders on the screen, and his company's name was among them. The small-time bidders had dropped out a million Zenni ago. They were weak. It didn't matter how high the cost was, he was getting inside of Capsule Corporation, and no one was going to stop him.

He was so intensely focused that when his apartment door opened he jumped. His roommate dropped his gym bag onto their table, flopping down on the couch and throwing his feet up on their coffee table with an exhausted huff.

"Get your feet down, Goku!" He snapped. "That's disgusting."

"Whatcha doin'?"

"Bidding."

His eyes widened. " _ Still _ ? It's been hours! How long is it going to take?"

"It doesn't matter," he grumbled, clicking the button to raise his bid. "I could do this all night. Ha! See? Another team just withdrew their bid. I'm in the final stretch."

Goku wandered over to glance over his shoulder. He balked at the price, looking at the man nervously. "Vegeta… can you afford that?"

"Of course I can! Don't be ridiculous. One hundred days."

"It's just, it's not like this is a paying gig. There's no client this time, so we wouldn't get a paycheck."

"If you want to skip it due to non-payment be my guest. Ha! There went another!"

"I didn't say that, Man. You know I'll help you. Just, if you spend that much how are going to pay for rent or--"

"Two left," Vegeta said, ignoring him. "I'm almost there."

"Do you really think this place is going to be worth it?"

"Every person that has stepped inside of that house has left with a horror story. There will  _ never _ be another opportunity like this." He stood up as the timer started winding down, a slow smirk sliding over his face. "Come on. Give it up."

With a final ding, the second to last bidder faded away, leaving only ECTOS flashing on the screen. Vegeta slapped the table victoriously, grabbing his phone. An email came through almost instantly, congratulating ECTOS on its successful bid and giving instructions for their purchased night.

Goku winced. "Four  _ million _ Zenni, Vegeta? For one night?"

"Stay home if you want to," he growled.

"I'm coming!" He swore. "There's no way you ate today. Come on, let's go get some dinner."

\------------------

Bulma lounged unprofessionally in her chair, rolling an ashtray sideways on the desk. She'd quit smoking a month before, but if things didn't pick up soon she was seriously considering starting back up again. She was bored out of her mind, listening to the same non-paying client she always listened to on Thursday afternoon. Maybe she should just change her business cards to say 'therapist' instead of 'paranormal investigator'. She seemed to do more counseling than anything else.

"So that was when the ghost came into my bedroom again," continued the small woman in an old housecoat that sat across from her. "But  _ this _ time, he wore a rainbow colored sheet. What does that mean, in your professional opinion?"

"He was celebrating pride month?" Bulma drawled sarcastically. She'd learned long ago that it didn't matter what she said to Mrs.Combe. They'd investigated her house a dozen times and never came up with any evidence, and she was far behind with her payments. She would have dropped her as a client if she had anything better to do.

"Well," the woman continued without listening, "I think it's all a conspiracy so that I will plant more flowers. Spirits don't like begonias, if you didn't know."

"Fascinating," Bulma sighed.

The door to her office burst open and her assistant almost fell in, eyes wide.

"Chichi?" She asked, frowning. "Is something wrong?"

"There's something you need to see, Ma'am."

Bulma gestured to Mrs.Combe. "I'm with a 'client'. Technically. Can it wait?"

" _ Bulma _ ," Chichi said grinning. "Get out here."

Bulma got up quickly, relieved to see it at least didn't look like bad news. Mrs.Combe made a sound of protest but Bulma ignored her, following Chichi out to the small desk in their waiting room.

They couldn't afford much; their entire office was just the two rooms with a coffee pot balanced precariously on a stack of books. The computers were old and loud, and there was a stack of unpaid invoices on their reception desk that Bulma tried to avoid looking at as much as she could. None of this seemed to bother Chichi as she strode around the desk and spun her monitor around.

"We got it."

"Got what?" Bulma asked, looking at the email on the screen.

"The old Capsule Corporation building! We  _ got _ it! I've just been sent the confirmation email. We won the auction."

Bulma smiled cautiously. "That… that's impossible. We only bid a thousand Zenni. Last I heard it was going for millions."

Chichi shrugged. "It must have been a bunch of people who weren't actually willing to pay what they were offering, and we were the highest real bid. Just look," she insisted, pointing to the text, "they mention us by name. 'Congratulations Ectos on being the highest bidder in our online auction. Please meet our representative at the North entrance of the Capsule Corporation compound on Saturday, June 5th, just before 5pm for legal paperwork.' It's us, Bulma! We're investigating the most haunted building in the world!"

Bulma grinned for real now, rereading the message carefully. She grabbed Chichi's hand excitedly, stomping her feet. "This is it. This is really it! We're  _ bound _ to catch real evidence in there!"

"I know," Chichi said. "How do we even prepare for this? What do we even bring?"

\------------------

"EMF meter?" Vegeta asked, holding up a checklist.

"Got it," Goku confirmed, loading another bag into the van.

"Full spectrum cameras, units one, two, three, and four, five, six, seven, eight--"

"Yep, all of them."

"EVP recorders one and two?"

"Yep."

"Thermal camera?"

"Yeeeeees," Goku moaned. "I told you, I already ran down the checklist. We have everything."

"We cannot afford another incident like the Mule Hotel," Vegeta snapped. "We drove two hours to that dump and realized we had none of our hookups, and had to go back for them. It wasted half our night, and we can't afford it with Capsule Corporation. Every hour we're there is costing us 266,000 Zenni."

Goku whistled. "What if we don't catch anything?"

"We will," he said simply.

Goku smiled nervously. "Hey! I remembered the most important bag."

"Which one?"

He held up a green duffle bag. "Snacks."

Vegeta rolled his eyes, pulling open the door to their van and climbing into the driver's seat.

"We can't ghost-hunt on an empty stomach!" Goku insisted, crawling in to sit next to him.

"When we review our footage for EVP I don't want to have to listen to you chewing goddamn Funyuns all night."

"I bought those creamy cakes you like," he said enticingly, waving one in front of him. "How long has it been since you ate?"

Vegeta popped the package open and bit half of the cake off in one sweep. "For the record, this does not count as food. It's junk. How do you eat like this and stay in shape?"

"I'm carbo-loading," Goku said thickly through a mouth full of cake.

"Would you take this seriously?"

"I'm one hundred percent serious," Goku said, saluting. "Just point me at equipment and give me a job. You want me to drive?"

"No. I'd rather arrive in one piece."

"How much sleep did you get last night?"

"As much as I needed."

Goku snorted suspiciously. "Can we at  _ least _ get coffee? It's like eight hours."

" _ Fine _ . We'll get coffee."

"Woo!" He clapped as they started out of the driveway.


	2. A Mistake

Krillin had a bad feeling. Most days he loved his job; he worked in a small cubical by himself, handling the paperwork connected to the government owned properties of West City. On a good day, he saw maybe three people. It was heaven compared to his last job in retail, and it provided enough money for himself and his fiance to live comfortably. He'd never seen a task like this coming.

"Three things I don't like in this world," Krillin muttered to himself as he stood outside of the main building of Capsule Corporation, clutching his folder of release forms. "Ghosts, people, and confrontation. Great job, idiot."

The idea to rent out the old building for money to fix the pothole outside of Spring Mall had been his. He was just trying to help; the shopkeepers had been complaining for years, and he felt they deserved something. Otherwise he never would have tried to make waves. His motto for government work was 'get in, do nothing, get out with a pension'. He'd never dreamed one little suggestion could change his life so drastically.

They'd expected maybe enough money to cover the repairs of the pothole. They had not counted on  _ four million Zenni.  _ That was enough to repair the road and fix a dozen other issues the city had been trying to work towards for decades. His boss, his boss's boss, and the city council were so impressed they'd pushed the promotion on him only an hour after the auction ended. He fought it at first; he didn't want limelight or to more responsibility, but his fiance had convinced him it was worth it. How much trouble could he get in being Acting Director of City Owned Property?

Well, as he stood here now, staring at his phone, he saw exactly how much trouble he could be in. The main building of Capsule Corporation stood behind him, a large dome shaped structure the color of a bleached desert. The occasional window was peppered along the sloped walls, but they had been sealed up tight with metal shutters long ago. He ran a hand over his own shaved head, imagining the structure as a giant face, mocking the situation he'd found himself in.

Eight hours ago he received an email from the ECTOS crew he was expecting that they were on their way and would be on the grounds at 4:45 to sign their paperwork and get inside. If was signed -  _ Vegeta _ .

Then, one hour ago, he received another email, also marked as ECTOS in his inbox. The email stated they had just left their headquarters and would be there at 4:45 to sign  _ their _ paperwork and get inside. This one was signed too.  _ Bulma _ .

_ Maybe it was a glitch _ , he lied to himself, trying to avoid the scene that was about to play out in front of him.  _ Maybe they accidentally sent their email twice, not knowing I'd gotten the first one. Or maybe… _

He gulped as he saw two vans pull into the long driveway, both with ECTOS on the side in different fonts and colors.

_ Maybe I fucked up. _

\---------------------

The driver's doors opened first. Out of the black van came a short man with mild scowl, shooting a curious glance at the vehicle that had parked near them. Out of the white one came a young woman in a short orange and red dress. Her hair puffed up over her head in a loose perm, swishing slightly as she turned to watch the man with equal confusion. 

Krillin held his ground, shaking when they caught sight of him and headed in his direction. The man spoke first.

"There has been some kind of miscommunication. I don't need a crew under me, or help of any kind with my investigation. My associate and I have all of the equipment we need, and we prefer to work alone so we don't taint our evidence."

Bulma snorted. "Excuse me? I'm not your crew."

"What are you then? A cheerleader?" He asked with a snort. "Also unnecessary."

"For your information, Buddy, I'm the lead investigator tonight, so watch how you talk to me. If the city hired you to help I'll fire your ass. Me and Chichi can handle everything ourselves."

He scowled. "Are you insane? I won the auction to use this place tonight. If you think I'll allow you in just because you show up in a dress the size of a tube sock you're incorrect. Get lost. This place is ECTOS property for tonight."

"Yeah. Ectos. My company," she said hotly.

" _ I _ own ECTOS. I started it myself. I don't know who you think you're fooling--"

"Check out the van, Asshole," she snapped pointing back to the vehicles. "I founded Ectos three years ago."

"This is ridiculous. I expect better service for how much I'm spending here," Vegeta barked at the poor government worker.

Krillin sputtered, turning a deep red. "Um…"

Vegeta ignored him, turning back to glare at the woman. "The East City Team of Occult Studies was founded almost ten years ago, and trust me, you had no part in it, Woman."

"East City  _ what _ ?" She laughed. "Ectos doesn't stand for anything,  _ idiot _ . It's short for ectoplasm, the viscous substance found in manifestations of spirits or--"

"I know what ectoplasm is," he snapped. "Why the hell would you name a company after it?"

"Because 'Ghost Bitch' was taken."

"Is everything alright, Bulma?" Chichi called as she stepped out of the van carefully. She cast a worried glance at the two as they argued loudly in front of the short representative. A tall man in an orange hoodie jumped out of the black van, carrying a duffel bag over his shoulder. She felt red creep into her face as she tried to look at him. She'd never seen someone with that many muscles in real life. He smiled warmly and she nodded back, not meeting his eyes.

"Enough of this," Vegeta snapped. "I'm paying four million Zenni for this. What was your bid?"

Bulma went pale. "Four… million? Our bid won at a thousand."

He snorted derisively. "Clearly this is your mistake then. So get on your way and leave the real cases to professionals."

Bulma growled in defeat, and was about to stalk back to her van when Krillin raised his hand. "Um, before you go… we have a slight problem."

"What?" They barked in unison.

Krillin winced. "So… I was in charge of the online auction. At the beginning, I saw two companies with the same name, and the same starting bid, so I assumed they were one company. I combined them to avoid confusion."

"So what? You were wrong." Vegeta said.

"Right, but that means their starting bid was added to yours. We took the money pledged from the two accounts linked to the bid, and sent confirmation emails to the emails associated with the accounts."

"In English," Bulma snapped.

"Both of you paid. ECTOS paid 3,999,000 Zenni. Ectos paid 1000."

"I want my money back then, now," Bulma snapped.

"Unfortunately, it's in a secure account, and City Hall is closed," Krillin said, looking at the ground. "We could solve this easily. If you're willing to pay the 1000 to buy them out, Sir--"

Vegeta balked. "Absolutely not! I won't pay another cent!"

"Then, if the other company was willing to eat the cost--"

"No way," Bulma said. "I need paranormal evidence from this place for my book, and I'm not leaving without it."

"Then Sir, you would only have a bid of what you paid. The prize would go to the person with the second highest bid, and we would refund both of your money within five to ten weeks."

They stared at him.

"Basically, both of your companies get access to the properties tonight, or neither of them do, and we call the runner up."

"This is bullshit!" Vegeta shouted.

"Hey, Buddy--" Goku started, coming up behind him.

"Don't you 'hey Buddy' me, Goku!" He snapped.

"I'm just saying, it's a big building. Maybe we could stick to one side of the building and they could--"

"I paid four million Zenni for this building!" He shouted.

"Really?" Bulma grinned mischievously. "Sounds like you only spent 3,999,000 Zenni."

He growled, balling up his fists.

"Vegeta look, it's five minutes to five. The longer we argue, the less time we have to investigate," Goku prodded. "Remember? Every minute counts?"

Vegeta huffed, fixing her with a cold stare. "I swear to the gods, if you fuck up my investigation I will sue your ass for every penny this night cost me."

She stuck out her tongue, clearly about to say something else before Chichi wrapped a hand over her mouth. "We're all getting along then! Yay!"

"Before we open the door, I need you to agree to these." Krillin said, opening his folder. "For insurance purposes, the city requires you all to sign a waiver releasing us from liability for any and all physical or emotional injuries."

They each took a form, looking at them skeptically.

"Is it dangerous in there?" Chichi asked, eyeing the front door.

"Maybe. We're, uh, not sure. It's been decades since anyone has been inside."

"What are 'emotional' injuries?" Bulma asked.

"This place has… a certain reputation. We want to make sure that anyone who enters understand they may be confronted with--"

"They don't want to pay for your therapy when you gets the shit scared out of you, Woman," Vegeta grumbled, signing his paper against Goku's back. "Sign it or get lost."

"Oh," she laughed, taking a pen. There  _ better _ be some ghosts here. That's the whole point."

"There's one more thing," Krillin said. "We've gotten some reports of people threatening online to trespass since they know that the building will be open--" Vegeta opened his mouth to protest but Krillin held up his hands "--but we have a solution! I can't give you the codes we have to open the door, because the mechanism to change it is too full of bugs. But if you'd like, I can seal you inside once you're in. You'd be a little stuck for the night, but I'd be back to get you out at 8AM sharp. To be clear, this is not a city requirement, but--"

"Do it," Vegeta nodded. "We can't risk anyone  _ else _ endangering out work," he said, shooting a glance at the women.

Bulma nodded. "Our team agrees."

"We do?" Chichi asked.

Krillin nodded, turning to the door. He pressed a small button next to the entrance and a panel slid up, offering him a rusted keyboard. He typed a code in, covering the keys with his other hand, and the large metal door slowly clanged to life.

The five of them watched in silence as the antiquated system struggled to fill its purpose. There was a groaning of metal and wood as the door slid up into a compartment, shaking along its track. A loud generator kicked on somewhere with a huff of protest, and they could hear the buzzing of fluorescent lights flickering to life.

The doorway opened into a wide, round room, nearly as tall as the building itself. It was just large, too large for any room to need to be, as if they stood in the lobby of a skyscraper instead of the front of a house. Directly in front of them sat a reception desk sloped in a wide half-circle, with an array of chairs behind it. Paintings hung on cracking walls, and pots of long dead plants sat neglected in corners. Two staircases swept up either side of the desk, leading to two separate balconies, one much higher than the other.

Chichi walked behind Bulma, covering her mouth to avoid the dust settling around them. "This doesn't really look like a house."

Vegeta snorted. "It was never intended to be  _ just _ a house. Abram Fawcet created Capsule Corporation as his safe haven. He intended to hire a whole team to market his inventions from downstairs while he worked alone in his own separate wing."

"I read that article too," Bulma said dismissively. " _ The Unique Architectural Intentions of Capsule Corporation and How It Could Have Contributed To Its Haunting _ . It was too dry for my taste. Did you actually like it?"

"I  _ wrote _ it," Vegeta fumed.

"That explains a lot."

Vegeta stepped forward to say something, but Goku caught his shoulder.

"So," Goku beamed, "I think we all got off on the wrong foot. Let's start over. Hi! I'm Goku, and this is my brother Vegeta."

Bulma was still fixing Vegeta with a stare, but she shrugged him off and smiled at the other man. "Well, it's at least nice to meet  _ you _ , Goku. You two own ECTOS together?"

Goku laughed. "Me? No way. ECTOS is one hundred percent Vegeta's, I'm just the muscle."

She extended her hand. "My name is Bulma Briefs, I'm the owner and CEO of Ectos Paranormal Investigations. This is my assistant Chichi. She helps me with the day to day of running our office, and she's a certified psychic to boot."

Vegeta scoffed.

Bulma narrowed her eyes. "You have a problem with psychics?"

"Not particularly, because they don't exist," he said, smirking. "Half of all psychics are money hungry scammers, and the rest are delusional."

Chichi tried to tell Bulma not to bother, but she ignored her. "Chichi  _ is _ psychic, for your information. Chichi, show him!"

"Show him?" Chichi asked. "How?"

"Do a thing," Bulma said vaguely, waving her hand. "We're in the most haunted building in the world, find a spirit to talk to."

Chichi looked around, blushing. "I'm sorry, there's none in this room. Spirits are very hard to grab onto, and there's no guarantee--"

"Shocking," Vegeta drawled sarcastically.

"If anything that proves her legitimacy," Bulma argued. "A scammer would just make something up on the spot."

"So you're both just delusional, got it."

"Come on, Vegeta," Goku laughed nervously. "We don't know everything. She might be legit."

Krillin cleared his throat, and they all turned to look at him. "If you don't mind folks, I'd like to get all your bags in here so I can close the building up and leave. It'll be dark soon." he glanced at the lowering sun. "I don't want to be  _ here _ when the sun goes down.

Vegeta and Bulma shot each other one more annoyed look before heading out towards their vans with their friends following behind them.

Vegeta punched the side of their vehicle as Goku started to throw their bags over his shoulders. "They're going to ruin everything!" He muttered lowly. "Can you think of any way to get rid of them?"

"You could pay the difference like that city guy said."

Vegeta glanced at him guardedly, but Goku knew him well enough to read the worry on his face. "Are you… broke?"

"No. I have money, but one thousand Zenni would put a very difficult dent in it. If I'd  _ known _ I needed to finish the payment off I'd have kept extra when I bought supplies, but… no, buying them out isn't an option."

"I don't know," Goku shrugged. "More investigators, more opportunities, right? This is a lot for two people, especially in a place this big."

"And what if they make noise? What if we think we hear footsteps and find out it's just  _ them _ ."

"It'll be fine," he insisted, tossing a fifth bag up over his shoulder. "One hundred days." He caught sight of the girls in the other van struggling to carry one bag each. He frowned and opened his mouth, but Vegeta stopped him.

"No."

"This kinda stuff is heavy, Vegeta."

"Then they should have brought more help. Flirt on your own time."

"I'm not flirting."

"Please. You're practically humping the brunette's leg."

"What about Blue? She's a spitfire, that's more your type."

"You mean that  _ demon woman _ ? Are you insane?"

"Well, if we want to talk about doing things on my own time, I'll have to remind you that  _ you don't actually pay me. _ "

Vegeta snarled, stalking over to the girl's van. They had time to look up and be surprised as he snatched the bags out of their hands and started carrying them into the building. Goku grinned as he followed him and tossed the rest of the girl's equipment over his free shoulder. "That was Vegeta's version of 'hello, nice to meet you, let me help you with your bags'."

"Oh," Bulma blinked, watching the shorter man stomp into the building. "Thanks."

Krillin waited until they had everything inside and had locked up their vehicles before he nodded to them, stepping outside. "I'll be back at 8AM sharp," he swore, waving. "Good luck, folks."

He typed in a code and the door slid shut, locking them inside.

Vegeta wasted no time, setting his duffel bags on the counter and unzipping them. "It is currently 5:17 pm. We have exactly two hours and seven minutes until sunset. Bottom floor is reception and seven empty offices. The second story balcony leads to a set of labs down three hallways, mostly empty, some were used off and on by Fawcet for a period of two years and may contain caustic chemicals, so wear a mask when you're setting anything up in there. The third floor was Fawcet's living quarters. It has the most reported activity and I plan to be up there for more than half the night. I want a full spectrum camera in every room, EVP in every room on the top floor, and thermal imaging placed far from windows to avoid any fluctuations from outside temperatures. We start voice sessions at sunset."

"Got it," Goku said, throwing a bag over his shoulder and picking up a mask.

Bulma crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow. "And just how do you know all that about a building that's been closed off to the public for years?"

"I memorized the layout based on interviewing eyewitness of former maintenance workers and their families," he smirked back. "I hope you were listening, because I won't be detailing the rooms again."

Bulma shrugged. "Meh. I think I'd rather trust the original building plan." She pulled a large scroll of paper out of her bag and spread it out on a table.

He balked. "What--  _ where did you get that _ ?"

"City Hall. They keep plans on file."

"I  _ asked _ for them," Vegeta snarled. "They said they were locked out from the public to discourage vandalism."

Bulma shrugged. "Well, you should have asked nicely. The guy at the desk was very accommodating after we talked a little while. My miniskirt might have had something to do with it."

Vegeta growled, grabbing his homemade plans and stomping up the stairs after Goku.


	3. An Anomaly

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn't going to post more than a chapter a day, but ... I have no self control. So here's more.

"What's the point of always doing this in the dark, or at night?" Goku asked. He was securing a cord down with reflective tape so they wouldn't trip over it later. "Can't ghosts come out in the light?"

"They can," Vegeta mumbled, working on his laptop in the corner of the room. They'd decided to set up their base of operations on the third floor, in Abram Fawcet's library. Dusty volumes littered the shelves and the floor where pieces of the bookcases had rotted away over the years, spilling their contents across the thick rug. "There are theories that they feel more comfortable in the dark, or that the hum of artificial light drives them away."

Goku sneezed, covering his mouth as the last minute.

"Can you avoid covering my equipment in snot?"

"Sorry," he said sniffing. "My allergies have been acting up since we got in here."

"Since when does dust bother you?"

"It doesn't," Goku said, brushing off his pants and moving to start the camera in the corner. "Must be an animal somewhere."

"Impossible," Vegeta shook his head. "This place was airtight, and Fawcet never owned any animals."

There was a small knock at the door, and they both looked up as Chichi stepped in carefully. Goku smiled wide, holding up a friendly hand. "Can we help you?"

She cleared her throat. "Bulma would like to set up our main hub in here."

"Too late," Vegeta said, not looking away from his screen. "We've taken it."

Chichi pressed on. "She's worried that if we're too spread out it will affect the integrity of our evidence. We could mistake you guys for spirits. Could we set up across the room?"

"Absolutely not."

"Vegeta…" Goku needled gently, leaning on the camera. "Come on. They're right. You said yourself you don't want anyone to question your evidence."

He rolled his eyes. "Fine."

Goku clapped. "Awesome! This'll definitely be better as a team. That way when Vegeta goes to pee I don't have to sit all alone in a creepy room."

"Are you afraid of ghosts, Goku?" Chichi asked, smiling as she carried her bag across the room to set up.

"Afraid? Nah," he shrugged. "I'm only afraid of catching an EVP when Vegeta's gone. He'd be so jealous he'd kill me."

Vegeta snapped the laptop shut, catching their attention. "We've got twenty minutes until sundown. Are there cameras in every room?"

"Yep," Goku nodded.

"Thermals are set up?"

"Yep."

"Microphones?"

"I got it all, Vegeta," he swore. "A hundred days."

Vegeta nodded. "I'm going to inspect them to make sure  _ their _ cameras don't obstruct our view." He said, casting a look at Chichi. "Behave yourself."

Goku winked at him, but it quickly turned into another sneeze. Vegeta strode out with his computer, and Goku flopped down in an armchair.

Chichi pulled a chair up to a research table to start setting up her system. "Your brother is… angry a lot, isn't he?"

Goku laughed. "Nah, he's not bad once you get to know him. Tonight just means a lot to him."

"It must," Chichi muttered. "I've never even seen a million Zenni, let alone four."

Goku shrugged. "Want some food? I brought a lot, I get the munchies when we hunt for ghosts."

She pursed her lips. "No. Thank you."

He tilted his head. "What's wrong? You don't like snacking at work?"

"I don't like…" she paused. "I don't like the term 'ghost hunting'. The point is to try to help, not to keep evidence as trophies."

"Oh. Sorry," he said genuinely. "I never thought about it like that."

"It's okay. Bulma forgets sometimes too. She's working on a book, and she wants something solid to write about. I think, if we have the chance to help some lost spirit, we have an obligation to do so."

He leaned back, watching her a moment. "You really are psychic, huh?"

"Not really, that's the wrong term. I'm a medium. I can sense when a presence is near, and sometimes I can talk to them."

"Any ghosts around here?" He asked with a grin.

"Not yet," she smiled back. "It's early yet." He sneezed again, and she tutted sympathetically. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, allergies," he said, rubbing his forehead. "Vegeta says it's all in my head. Can't be any dander in here."

"Your brother's right," she said sheepishly. "Bulma had me read a book on this place before we came to familiarize myself with the case."

"I guess so," he agreed, a little uncomfortably. "Say, I don't want you to think I lied earlier, but you should probably know, Vegeta's not  _ really _ my brother. We just tell people that."

"Oh," she said, eyes widening. "That's fine! I mean, I'd never judge someone for--"

Goku laughed, cutting her off. "No, he's not my boyfriend either. We're foster brothers. Or, we were before we aged out. We just got kinda used to each other so we share an apartment now."

"That's nice," she smiled softly. "How long have you known each other?"

Goku clicked his tongue. "I'm not good with math. Vegeta was six… he's twenty-five now…"

"Nineteen years," she said. "That's way longer than I've known Bulma. She hired me right after our senior year of college, and that was only a few years ago."

Goku was about to answer, but something dropped onto the table next to Chichi's laptop. They both jumped, staring at the creature a long moment. The small black cat meowed loudly, stretching up to peek over the laptop screen.

"Ha! Told you," Goku said, pointing at the cat and covering his nose. "My allergies never lie."

Chichi scratched the cat's head, peering at it nervously. "I suppose he might have run in when we had the door open?" She pulled a radio from her belt, pressing a button. "Bulma, weird report. Over."

The machine crackled to life. "I'm listening. Over."

"There's a cat in here. We're upstairs in the library setting up, and he just jumped up on the table out of nowhere. Over."

Bulma was quiet a long moment. "That's… weird. Over."

"Right? There's no precedent for this right? It's not a paranormal thing? Over."

"Can you touch it? Over."

The cat arched into Chichi's hands, purring softly. "Yes. I'm petting him. Over."

Bulma laughed. "Ghost animals have been reported in some cases, but not here. I don't think you'd be able to pet him if he was a spirit. Get a picture just in case, I guess. I'll be up when I finish the bottom floor. Over and out."

Chichi set the radio down and kissed the cat on the head, and Goku winced. "You like cats?"

"Sure. I don't have any, if that's what you're asking," she said, shooting him a demure look. "If you came to my apartment your allergies wouldn't act up."

"Really?" He grinned. "We should test that some time."

\-------------------

Vegeta held his watch in front of him at his desk, counting down to sunset. Goku lounged with his legs over the armrest of his chair. Bulma and Chichi sat across the room at the table, talking softly. 

"What's your baseline for EMF?" Bulma asked loudly, making Goku jump.

Vegeta quirked an eyebrow, not looking at her. "Why do you want to know?"

"Why do you think, Genius? I'm making sure my equipment is functioning well."

"If you can't afford adequate equipment--"

"Just tell me. Dick."

"15."

"Thank you."

Vegeta stood, walking around the desk to lean against it. "We have a few minutes to sunset, so I should explain how this is going to work. We begin our sessions by inviting the spirits to talk or manifest, and--"

"I know how to run an investigation," Bulma spat. "I've lead hundreds."

"Yes, but I intend to actually catch something, so your expertise is useless."

"Vegeta," Goku said suddenly.

"Oh  _ fuck _ you," Bulma spat, standing up.

Chichi sighed. "Bulma, you said you'd try."

"I did," Bulma said defensively. "But he's a chauvinist asshole who thinks we're amateurs because we're women!"

Vegeta balked. "What are you on about? I never said anything about you being women."

"Then what's your problem with me?"

"Vegeta--" Goku tried again.

"My  _ problem _ is small minded money hungry attention seekers who don't give a damn about finding out if ghosts exist. All you care about is the fame you'd get from selling your evidence. Feel free to quote that in your little  _ book-- _ "

Goku slapped a hand over Vegeta's mouth and the man twisted angrily, but Goku was insistent. "Shh! Listen!"

They all went silent. Clear, loud footsteps were echoing down the hallway outside of the library.

They practically climbed over each other to get to the door. Vegeta reached it first and they ran into the hallway. The footsteps came from the left, and as they listened with baited breath the noise was directly upon them, as if someone was stomping right between their feet.

"Goku," Vegeta breathed. "We have a camera on this, right? With audio?"

Goku turned red. "Uh, no?"

"What?" Vegeta hissed.

"You said you wanted a camera in every  _ room _ , you never said anything about the hallways!" Goku said bashfully.

"Godammit Goku, I--"

"Shh!" Bulma hissed. "We have one in the corner, shut up!"

The footsteps passed by them and thumped down the hall. They stopped suddenly, and a door creaked open. The footsteps echoed inside, and then they were gone as the door closed.

The four stood in stunned silence for a long moment. 

"Holy shit…" Goku whispered. "Holy...shit! Vegeta, that was real!"

Vegeta nodded grinning.

"No, like," Goku continued, slightly pale, " _ really _ real. We've never gotten anything even close to that before."

Vegeta bristled. "I have plenty of recorded activity--"

Goku shook his head. "I'm sorry, Man, but not like that. That was not an orb on playback, or a creaky chair or gibberish on an EVP. We all  _ heard _ that."

Bulma grabbed Chichi's shoulder tightly. "Did you see anything?"

"Maybe, a faint outline," Chichi nodded. "A man, I think. We can check the footage and I'll try again."

Vegeta shot a look at Goku. "We'll have to review yours, as apparently  _ we _ don't have any."

Goku still looked shaken, but he frowned at his friend. "Hey, I did what you asked. I put cameras in every-- oh!" He grinned, pointing at the door the footsteps had walked into. "There's a camera in that room! Maybe we caught something facing the door?"

Vegeta hummed. "Possible. We should look though it immediately."

Goku ran forward to grab the handle, then he paused, looking back apprehensively. "Uh… if I open this door, is there going to be a ghost on the other side of it?"

Bulma and Vegeta shot each other a look.

_ "Well?" _ Goku insisted.

"Probably not," Bulma said. "It's likely a residual haunting."

Vegeta nodded. "That's why it didn't acknowledge our presence in any way. It was just following the same trail it always follows for whatever reason. It likely disappears when it reaches the end of the cycle."

"And we're sure it reached the end?" Goku asked.

"Not a clue," Bulma admitted.

"Great," Goku said, taking a deep breath. "Okay. I'll just open it… what's the worst that could happen? No one dies from seeing a ghost, right?"

Vegeta perked up. "Actually I know a few accounts where--" Bulma elbowed him in the ribs. He jumped, looking down to where her body has made contact with his. She widened her eyes at him and cleared her throat. "Uh, no. You'll be fine, Goku."

Goku slowly turned the knob, standing back as he pushed the door to swing open. The room was empty except for a tripod with a camera on it that was laid out on the floor.

" _ Dammit _ ," Vegeta swore again. "Goku, you swore that the cameras were up! How could you miss this one?"

"I didn't!" Goku insisted. "I promise, it was set up! It must have fallen somehow…" Goku took four wide steps into the room, and then fell over suddenly with a sickening crack.

"Ah!" He screamed. "My leg! I think it snapped! What the  _ hell _ ?"

Vegeta moved immediately to step towards him, but Goku held a hand out to stop him, or tried to at least. The hand barely made it off of the floor where he was pressed against the rug. "Don't come in here! I mean it! Stay back!"

"What's wrong?" Chichi asked, eyes wide as she peered around Vegeta.

"It's like there's an elephant sitting on me," Goku gasped out, struggling to breathe. "Or… or like someone dialed the gravity  _ way _ up."

Vegeta pulled a notepad from his pocket and started flipping through it quickly. "Gravity fluctuations? I have never even heard of that. Are you sure?"

"Yes I'm-- _ ow _ , sure!" Goku winced.

Chichi pulled keys out of her jacket and tossed them into the room near Goku's prostrate body. They sailed in a normal arc through the air until they made it within a few feet of him, then they suddenly shot downwards, slamming hard into the rug with a thud.

"It looks like it stops a few feet away," Chichi said. "Can you crawl towards us?"

Goku's large muscles flexed, and his arms moved slightly. "No. I can't."

Vegeta looked him over, then turned and walked down the hall.

"Hey!" Bulma snapped at him. "Where do think you're going? You can't just leave him there!"

Vegeta snorted rolling his eyes. "No shit, Woman," he said, disappearing into the library. He came back out a minute later holding a coiled extension cord. "Move."

"Oh," she blinked stepping back from the doorway.

Vegeta crawled into the room, stopping just short of the keys Chichi had thrown. He threw the cord hard, but it barely made it to Goku a few feet away. "Grab it."

"Thanks," Goku gasped out.

"Don't thank me yet, I can barely move you on a good day," Vegeta mumbled. He tossed the other end of the cord out of the door and stood, straining against the cord to move him. "Both of you, grab it and pull."

Bulma and Chichi grabbed the excess cord, pulling hard. Goku inched across the floor, wincing as he slid across the carpet. His elbow passed the keys on the floor and he let go of the cord, dragging himself forward as quickly as he could. When his chest was free he took a deep breath, scrambling to pull his legs out of the invisible force.

Vegeta pulled him up to stand on one leg and eased him back toward the library. Chichi moved to support his other shoulder, but she wasn't tall enough to manage it. 

Goku sat in the armchair with a hiss. His leg stuck out at an inhuman angle. Chichi knelt down to look at it, fussing over the swelling that was already beginning.

"We need to get him to a hospital," she fretted.

Vegeta pulled out his cellphone, frowning. "I have no service. The walls are too thick."

"What time is it?" Goku asked.

"Seven forty," Vegeta said.

"Oh, great," Goku laughed weakly. "I only have to wait  _ twelve hours _ ."

Bulma ran to her luggage, rifling around until she found what she was looking for and walking back. She held out a bottle of champagne and a corkscrew. "I brought this to celebrate if we caught something good," she explained. "It might take the edge off for you. There might be some glasses in the cupboard."

"I don't need a glass, someone just open it," he begged, eyes squeezing shut.

Bulma popped the cork and handed it off and Goku started chugging the champagne. She looked at the others guiltily, biting her lip. "I'm sorry that Goku got hurt, but…  _ did you fucking see that? _ "

Vegeta smirked. "A gravitational anomaly. With four witnesses and a two cameras to back it up."

Bulma pumped her fist. "We have solid evidence of paranormal phenomenon, and it's barely even dark yet!"

Chichi crossed her arms. "Well I'm glad you two are so happy! Goku is in pain!"

"How many bottles of champagne did you bring, Bulma?" Goku asked.

"Seven. If I found a full apparition I was going to celebrate for hours."

"Then I'll be fine," he said unconvincingly. "Could you get me another bottle, Chichi?"

Vegeta huffed. "There's no point in moping around about Goku's leg when there's nothing we can do about it. I paid a lot for this, I intend to continue my investigation."

"I'm fine guys, really," he said. "Don't stop on my account."

"I agree with Vegeta," Bulma nodded, "surprisingly. We can't do anything about it until morning. Chichi, we should head down for the floor below and--"

"Absolutely not!" She snapped. "I'm staying with Goku! He got hurt trying to get the camera for you two,  _ if _ you remember. Poor man," she said, touching his good thigh.

Goku's eyes darted to her hand, quickly to Vegeta, then back to her. He threw a hand over his forehead. "Uh, yeah, it definitely does hurt a lot. Vegeta, maybe you and Bulma should continue the investigation alone and leave me and Chichi here. Together. To watch my leg."

Vegeta rolled his eyes. "Fine, but you could at least manage some EVP work. You know the drill," he said, passing him a voice recorder.

"Will do," Goku said with a pained salute.

Vegeta grabbed a handheld camera and recorder of his own. "Are you coming or not, Woman?"

Bulma looked him up and down, grabbing her own equipment. "I guess I can stomach you for a few hours, if it means getting more evidence like that."

"Turn on your flashlights. From here on out, we're going dark."


	4. Aggression

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! The art in this chapter is from Bokunobotanist. She is available on both Tumblr and Twitter 😍

Vegeta snorted, rolling his eyes when he saw what she was pulling out of her pack. They'd set up camp in an empty lab on the second floor. Long counters of untouched beakers stood around them, and there were only a few equations written on the nearly unused chalkboards that lined the walls. Despite the scant use this room had ever seen, it was reported to be one of the most common hot spots for activity. Just another thing that didn't make sense in the history of this odd house.

"What?" She asked grumpily.

"A Spirit Box? Really?"

She crossed her arms. "What's wrong with my Spirit Box?"

"Nothing. Let's grab a Ouijia Board and braid each other's hair while we're at it."

"Spirit Boxes are well respected pieces of scientific equipment," she said, holding it up. "This device scans the AM and FM bands of radio frequency to create white noise. Spirits can _ use _ that white noise to communicate. How do you not know this?"

He took it from her. "_ This _, is a broken radio. They're bullshit. People just hear what they want to hear."

"That's not true!" She said as she snatched it back, sitting in a creaky office chair. "I wouldn't peg you for a skeptic."

"I'm not a skeptic," he said, hopping up to sit on the empty counter. "But when I catch solid evidence of paranormal activity, it's not going to come from an unreliable source. I'm going to know for sure. It's like the charlatans who set down maglites that will turn on by themselves and then act shocked when they 'respond' to questions. They don't want to know shit, they just want the money. Like you."

"_ Excuse _ me?" She asked, offended. "Who said I was out for money Mr.Four Million Zenni?"

"You said it yourself. You're only here to write a book. Hell, that incident with the gravity should give you enough to publish. Get some x-rays of Goku's bones, get your psychic to give a testimonial, and you'll make a few hundred thousand Zenni on it. Congratulations." He said flatly.

"For your information," she snapped, "I don't _ need _ money."

"You bid one thousand Zenni on an investigation that went for millions. Whatever."

Bulma growled. "You know what, forget it. I don't have to explain myself to _ you _." She said. She switched on the Spirit Box and loud white noise filled the room.

Vegeta winced. "Turn that damn thing off! Our real EVP recorders won't pick up anything with that damn racket in the background."

She stuck her tongue out. "Make me!"

He stood up. They froze for a second, neither sure what he was going to do. They never found out.

_ "Someone's in here." _ The voice came through clear and loud, making the white noise pause. 

They both looked at it, blinking in surprise. Bulma slowly grinned. "Holy _ shit-- _"

"Don't get excited," he reminded her. "Spirit Boxes are notoriously unreliable. We probably just breifly picked up a radio station."

"Any sound longer than one second can't be a radio station," she argued. "The frequency scans too fast."

"Then it was several stations in a row, creating a sentence that our ears interpreted as one voice--"

_ "I can hear their voices." _

Vegeta stopped talking, staring at the box.

"Ha!" She teased. "I told you."

_ "Kakarot!" _

The loud word made them both jump. Down the counter, beakers started to fling themselves around the room. Glass started flying in the air above them, and Bulma screamed.

"Get down!" Vegeta shouted, scooping his arm around her shoulders as he pulled her to the floor. They laid face down against the cold tiles as the instruments continued to break around them. A chalkboard snapped in half and swung down the wall. He put a hand over her head and she heard him hiss in pain.

All at once, it was over. The chalkboard swung idly from the momentum, dragging against the wall. They looked up slowly, eyes wide as they surveyed the damage. Every piece of glass in the room was shattered, flung against walls or crushed against the ground. The only thing still standing that wasn't bolted into a counter or table was their equipment, completely untouched.

"That…" she said, slowly getting up, "that was _ incredible _! And were we-- we were!" She squealed, looking into her camera. "We were rolling! We caught all of that! Vegeta, we--"

He was standing more slowly, holding his hand out in front of him. A two inch shard of glass stuck out of the back of his hand. She gasped, covering her mouth and staring at it. Vegeta was quickly going pale.

"I'm bleeding," he said dully. He swayed slightly.

"Hey!" She said, moving quickly to guide him to sit on the office chair. "You can't faint here, you'll just fall on more glass. Hang on." She dug through her bag, pulling out a small first aid kit.

"I'm bleeding," he repeated, holding the hand away from him as if it was going to attack.

"Are you okay?" She asked, gently taking his arm.

"I don't…" he muttered. "I don't like blood."

"I can tell," she laughed softly. As she took his hand she recalled the feeling of it on her hair, and she touched her head. "Was… was that piece of glass going to hit my head?"

He nodded vaguely. "That would be… more blood."

"Thanks," she mumbled. "Listen, it's not that deep, and we have a long time until morning. Normally I'd leave the glass in until we could get you to a hospital--"

"Pull it out!" He said frantically.

"I'm going to," she assured him. "But there's going to be more blood."

"Godammit," he said, closing his eyes. "Fine. Do it."

She gripped the shard, judging how far into his skin it went. With one yank she popped it out, and he hissed again, not opening his eyes. She quickly put the gauze against his hand, wrapping the bandage around it to cover the blood. She grabbed a bottle of water from her bag and splashed it over his hand to wash more of the red away, then put the bottle in his good hand. "Here, sip this and take deep breaths."

He nodded, drinking it slowly. "What… what did the voice say?"

"Kakarot," she said. "At least, that's what I heard. I've never heard it before, have you?"

"No," he shook his head, some color returning to his face as he picked up the still buzzing device. "That's what I heard as well."

"I thought Spirit Boxes were full of shit?" She asked.

"I am willing to reconsider, considering…" he waved his hand at the general disarray. "That. It could be a name. It sounds a bit…"

"Demonic?" Bulma grinned slowly. "That could totally explain why a house that's practically unused is so haunted. There doesn't have to be a history for it to be demon infested."

"True. We should check the cameras for."

_ "Get out!" _The Spirit Box squawked.

They stared at each other, and then at the box.

_ "Get....out!" _ It repeated. _ "...kill these fools!" _

"Aaaand it's time to get out of the lab," Bulma announced, grabbing her bag.

\----------------

Goku was staring at the ceiling, sipping idly on a bottle of champagne while Chichi looked through the shelves of the old library.

"Anything good?" He called over to her.

"What sort of books do you like?" She asked, blowing the dust from an old volume.

"I dunno. Not much of a reader. I'd listen if you read out loud though."

"Aren't you supposed to be recording an EVP session?" She asked.

"EVP sessions are easy," he scoffed. "Watch." He clicked the recorder on the table. "Hello, Spirits! If there is anything that wishes to talk to us, you're welcome to. See? That's it."

She smirked. "There's a little more to it."

Chichi's radio crackled to life and Bulma's voice came over it.

"Chichi, we have a situation on the second floor. Over."

Chichi held it up. "A paranormal one or just a technical failure? Over."

"Like a fucking entity just tried to kill us in the lab. It was _ beautiful _. We're going to move downstairs and hang out around the reception area and try for more. Over."

"Uh…" Chichi blinked, not sure what to say to that. "Bulma, maybe it's getting a little dangero--"

She froze. Across the room, standing by a cold fireplace, was a little boy.

Goku sensed the shift in her mood and started looking around the room. "Something wrong, Chi?"

"Uh, Bulma, I've got an apparition. Over."

There was no answer from the radio, but in seconds they heard Bulma and Vegeta both racing up the staircase. Goku was still whipping his head around, looking at the fireplace she was staring at.

"You really see someone?" He asked.

She nodded. The boy looked startled, and he was looking at her directly in the eyes. This was far from her first apparition, and she was not afraid. She just knew from experience that making too sudden of a move or talking excitedly could scare him away.

_ "What are you doing here?" _ The boy asked.

"We're not here to hurt you," Chichi said.

"Can it see me?" Goku asked.

"I'm not sure yet," she said softly, bending down to put herself at the same height as the boy. Bulma and Vegeta burst into the room and she held a hand out to stop them. They froze in their tracks, and Vegeta started searching the room with his eyes.

"Well? Where's the apparition?"

"I can't see it either," Goku said.

Vegeta narrowed his eyes skeptically. "Is this about your claim that you're a 'psychic'?"

Bulma smacked him on the arm, whispering furiously. "After what we just saw you're going to doubt _ now _? Let her work."

"Hello. My name is Chichi," she said quietly, holding her hand out to the boy. "Don't be afraid, Honey."

_ "I'm not afraid," _ the boy said, looking confused.

"Is it a kid, Chichi?" Bulma asked nervously.

"Yes. He's a little boy."

Vegeta and Bulma glanced at each other. "True child spirits are rare," he muttered.

"Demon is still our best bet," she nodded. "Be careful, Chichi. He might be lulling you into a false sense of security."

"I sense no malevolence," she said.

"Can you describe him?"

"He's young. Maybe twelve or thirteen, with... interesting hair. Surprisingly modern clothes."

_ "Who are you talking to, Chichi?" _ The boy asked.

"What do you mean interesting?" Bulma asked.

"It's, uh, purple," Chichi said, shrugging. "It looks lovely, Dear."

_ "Mom!" _ The boy yelled, turning around.

"No wait!" Chichi called. The boy stopped for a moment, looking at her skeptically. "We can try to help you! You're just lost, let us send you home."

_ "I am home." _

Vegeta took a step forward. "Ask him if he knows the word 'Kakarot'. If it is a demon its name would have power over it."

"Honey, do you know a Kakarot?" Chichi asked.

The boy frowned. _ "Kakarot? What about him? Why are you being so weird? Dad! In here!" _

"He's calling someone," Chichi said, backing up. "His father."

"Casper is calling his dad?" Goku asked, a little tipsy. "That's weird."

"Vegeta," Bulma said, grabbing his arm. "Do you think we met 'dad' downstairs?"

Vegeta's eyes went wide. "Get down!"

Goku scrunched down on his chair as Vegeta and Bulma dived to the floor. Chichi had enough time to look confused before she was thrown backwards off the ground.

"Chichi!" Goku gasped as she bounced off of the bookshelves.

She fell to the ground as books shot from the shelves, pages flying everywhere. Chichi covered her head with her hands as the volumes fell around her.

Goku tried to lift from his seat but it jostled his leg and he cried out in pain. "Chichi? Are you okay?"

"I… yes," she said, getting up slowly. Maybe just a little bruised. The boy is gone."

Bulma helped her up gently. "You did great. Just take it easy. Do you believe her now, Mr.Skeptic?"

"This location is more dangerous than I expected," he muttered. 

"No shit," Bulma rolled her eyes. "There's _ definitely _ something evil here."

"Perhaps you three should stay here together. I'll continue the investigation alone."

Bulma paused. _ "What?" _

"If you think it's too dangerous for you--"

"Excuse me?" She asked, striding up to him. He backed away slightly when her finger hit his chest. "Who do you think you are? Do you think this is some pioneer bullshit where the hero leaves the weak ones together while he 'braves the monsters of the wilderness' or some shit?"

He stammered. "I-- what--"

"Newsflash, _ dick _ , I go where I want, _ when _ I want. Get out of my way, I'll do it myself."

"That's not necessary. We can stay together--"

"Oh, _ now _ you want to stay together. No thanks, scardy-cat." She pushed him aside, striding out of the door with only a flashlight and a camera.

She slammed the door behind her, and they all glanced at each other in shocked silence.

"So, you hit her 'independence' button," Chichi laughed nervously. "She'll calm down in a while."

"What the hell is her problem?" Vegeta spat. "She's fucking insane!"

"Give Bulma a break," Chichi said defensively. "She just likes to do things herself."

"Because she's a _ pigheaded she-wolf _!" Vegeta growled, tossing a discarded book across the room. "I'll do it myself. Try to make yourself useful, Goku." He snarled, slamming the door again on the way out.


	5. The Ripple

_ It's an unnecessary waste of money. _

Most parents would be thrilled to find out their daughter wanted to go to college at seventeen after graduating early. They might say things like 'I'm proud of you' or 'we'll help anyway we can'. Bulma got  _ 'it's an unnecessary waste of money.' _

Bulma's face burned, heart beating in her ears as she strode boldly through the dark hallways of a building she knew her father or mother wouldn't step foot in. All unnecessary. As always when she felt like this, desperate to prove something to herself, the scene replayed behind her eyes.

Her father sat in his chair, barely bothering to glance up from his newspaper. "You don't need to learn some pointless trade. I'm not forking over hundred of thousands of Zenni in tuition for someone who will never work in her life."

"I haven't even told you what I want to go to school for," Bulma balked. "Besides, I want to go so that I  _ can _ work in my field."

"That's what Tights said about her engineering degree. Look at her now. She finished five semesters and then realized it was boring. That's money we'll never get back. Just take a damn vacation or something, it'd cost me less."

"Dad,  _ listen _ to me. This isn't like Tights' engineering degree. She only went for fun, and she didn't finish because she knew we didn't need the money. What I want to do is more about helping the scientific community. I want to write a whole book, and since I wouldn't be focused on earning a living wage, I could devote my time to taking only the best cases. It's not  _ about _ money."

"Translation: you will  _ never _ pay me back. It's an unnecessary waste of money."

"It  _ could _ make money, but that's not the point. We have billions of Zenni we'll never spend, what's the point if we don't do anything with it? I'll pay you back, okay?"

"Cases of what, anyway? What is it you want to spend so much time on?"

Bulma grinned. "You know how I've always been fascinated by the paranormal? I want to be the first person that writes a  _ well-respected _ book on ghosts. I'll use only the best equipment,  _ real _ evidence, and everyone will know I'm not in it to make a profit because I'll release it free of charge."

Her father finally looked up, staring at her with a grin like he thought she was joking. "Oh. Very funny, My Dear. You had me going."

"This isn't a  _ joke _ , Dad," she growled, balling up her fists.

His smile faded. "You want me to pay for you to study a subject that  _ doesn't _ exist?"

"I fucking knew you'd be like this," she huffed, crossing her arms. "You know what? I don't need you. I'll do it myself. Student loans are a thing, I'll just pay them back." She spun around to storm off, but he called for her to stop.

"And who is going to pay your living expenses while you follow this whim? If you think it's me you've got another thing coming--"

"I will!" She shot back. "I'll get a job! I  _ know _ I'm lucky to come from money, but I don't  _ need _ it. I don't  _ need _ you."

Her father scoffed. "Whatever, Honey. I'll see you when you find out how much money a child with no skills can make."

She wasn't starting at zero. She left her parents' house that night, but with the lavish gifts they had given her over the years. She sold her Porsche and bought a small van, and the difference between them helped her eat and survive through college. Scholarships covered more of her tuition than she'd expected, thank the gods because with her background she couldn't get student loans. Payments were due twice a semester, and she sold most of her electronics to make them.

The last thing she sold was her diamond necklace, a present from her sixteenth birthday and the last reminder of her old life. She hadn't spoken to her father since she walked out, and had only a few tense phonecalls with her mother.

_ "Just come home, Bulma. You're being foolish." _

That necklace gave her the capital to open Ectos and hire her friend Chichi full time. It was an investment, she'd told herself. You have to spend money to make money, afterall. She rented a small efficiency apartment, and lived cheaply, waiting for the return on her hard work. When Ectos got big, she'd use the money they earned from clients to finance her work towards her book.

Except, the clients never paid. Ectos had never been in the black in it's three years of operations. And the money was almost gone.

She'd have to go back empty handed.

As her anger wound down, Bulma started to get a better bearing on where she was. She was alone, in the dark, in a building with a presence so intense it had broken a leg, shattered a room full of scientific equipment, and thrown Chichi against a wall. Her steps became less sure and a chill ran up her spine.

"Shit," she muttered.

\----------------

Vegeta sat alone in a dark bedroom, still fuming and trying not to mumble loud enough to affect his voice recorder. He sat on the deep red comforter of the large bed, tapping his foot against the dark wooden floor. It'd been two hours now since they spilt up, and he hadn't heard a peep yet.

"Thickheaded, loud mouthed, aggravating goddamn woman," he muttered. She wasn't going to ruin the rest of this night. He shook his head to get her off his mind, and focused on his work, repeating his normal phrase. "If anything in this room wishes to communicate with me, I am willing to listen."

He paused, listening to the dead silence.

"Say anything," Vegeta said. "Or make a noise. Knock on the wall. Snap your fingers."

Nothing happened.

"Here's a conversation starter," he grumbled. "Why are women so confusing?"

_ "We're not that bad, Vegeta," _ a voice answered.

Vegeta jumped to his feet and spun round. The voice had clearly come from the bed as if someone was lying on it. It was a woman's voice for sure, and so familiar…

"Bulma?" He asked, knowing damn well he was alone.

_ "I was just answering you. You asked what was wrong with women." _

Vegeta held the recorder out. "I am speaking directly to the spirit in this room. Please, tell me why you're here."

_ "Yes you did, Vegeta. I not crazy."  _ It paused. _ "Oh, not again." _

Vegeta frowned, trying to understand what was going on. The voice was clear, he understood it perfectly, but the responses made no sense. A scream rang out a floor away.

He stopped, almost dropping the recorder in his hand as he ran from the room.

He found her on the second floor. Bulma was at the end of a hallway, looking at something down a corner he could not see.

"Bulma?" He called. "Are you okay?"

"Uh…" she said slowly, never taking her eyes from whatever she was looking at. "I don't know?"

He crept closer, easing his head around her corner. His mouth fell open.

"Is that… a ghost?" He asked.

"I guess?" She said skeptically. "It's not really what I was picturing…"

Several feet off the ground a small cartoonish white blob with a face was grinning at them. It held it's hands out in front of it like it was sneaking, but it was just floating conspicuously down the hallway toward them.

"Hello?" Vegeta called.

The thing didn't seem to hear him. It just kept floating never paying attention. The blob passed through the wall behind them, and it was gone.

Bulma picked up her radio. "Hey Chichi, when you see ghosts, do they… look really dumb? Over."

She waited a long moment, and no answer came.

"Is your radio dead?"

"No. She should hear me. Let's go."

They made it up to the library and burst inside unannounced. Vegeta paused and then sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Goddamn it, Goku."

Chichi was sitting on the armrest of the chair Goku was in, being careful not to bump his injured leg as they kissed frenziedly. When she heard Vegeta speak she jerked back, gasping slightly. They were both red-faced, Goku more than her due to the several bottles of empty champagne sitting next to his chair.

"B-bulma, hey," Chichi muttered, trying to sit up straight on the armrest. "We hadn't heard from you in a while..."

"She literally screamed five minutes ago." Vegeta said.

"Really?" Goku grinned. "I didn't hear anything."

"You're sitting on your radio, Miss Professional," Bulma teased, winking at her.

Chichi cleared her throat, pushing the hair that had fallen in her face back into her bun. "Oh. Sorry."

"Have you at least had any activity in here?" Vegeta asked, rolling his eyes as he moved to lean against a table.

"Well we would've, but you interrupted," Goku snickered, taking another drink.

" _ Paranormal _ activity, Jackass," Vegeta said.

"We've been listening and recording," Chichi swore, but so far there haven't been any--" she froze, staring at the fireplace across the room. She jumped off of Goku's chair, backing up. "Oh. I hadn't-- I mean… there's something over there. It's not making any noise, I hadn't noticed it."

Bulma aimed her camera at the fireplace. "Is the boy back?"

"No. It's not an apparition," Chichi said, approaching the sight slowly. "The best way I can describe it is like… a ripple. You know, when it's really hot outside and you can kind of see the heat ripple in the air? It doesn't feel hot, though."

"How big is it?" Vegeta asked, snapping a few pictures.

"Big. It's almost half of the wall, but the fireplace is in the center."

"The EMF meter is spiking, 'Geta," Goku muttered, holding it out to him.

Vegeta took the meter, striding towards the spot as he watched the needle climb.

"Wait!' Chichi called.

Vegeta stopped in his tracks, but he felt his hand grow colder instantly. His fingers disappeared, and Chichi let out a small scream. He yanked his fingers backwards and they returned to normal temperature. "Amazing," he muttered.

"You were going to walk right into it," Chichi explained.

Vegeta narrowed his eyes. "Into it? It has depth?"

"I'm not sure," she admitted.

"Sounds like a Nexus Point," Bulma said pensively.

"What's that?" Goku asked. "This is getting weird."

"It's like a portal," Bulma said. "I've never met anyone who actually found one. Theoretically it's a doorway through which spiritual energy can pass. It's rare, but would make sense in a weird place like this."

Vegeta eased the end of his camera into the anomaly, but the lens simply became blurry and unreadable. He hummed thoughtfully, setting his jaw.

Goku frowned. "Oh no. I know that face. You've got to be kidding me."

Vegeta nodded. "I'm going to try walking through it."

" _ What _ ?" Bulma balked. "The leading theory on Nexus Points as that they are  _ literally  _ doorways to hell. If you walk through there's no telling what could happen--"

"My hand is fine, it was just a bit cold," he said, examining his fingers.

"And if you end up in  _ hell _ ?"

Vegeta scoffed. "Come on, you don't really believe that do you? It's just a cold spot."

"Then why are you testing it?" She asked, crossing her arms.

"Because if it is a portal, then I'll know."

"Know  _ what _ ?" Chichi asked, eyes wide. "I can't condone this. It doesn't look safe--"

"I'll know there's an afterlife," Vegeta said, mostly to himself. "I've come this far."

"What's the point of having evidence if you die getting it?" Bulma asked incredulously.

"Vegeta no," Goku said firmly. He moved to stand but quickly remembered he couldn't and settled for just glaring at him. "This won't prove  _ anything _ . They won't be there."

"They?" Bulma asked.

"I have to see," Vegeta said, not paying attention to them again. "One hundred days, Goku. I'll be fine."

"Vegeta!" Goku barked.

Vegeta eased one arm forward, and it disappeared up to his elbow. Bulma grabbed his shoulder, pushing it. "You can't--"

"Give me an hour," he said. "If I do disappear, give me one hour, and then I'll come back out, no matter what is on the other side."

Bulma gritted her teeth, staring him in the eyes for a long moment. Finally, she nodded, moving back.

Vegeta stepped forward slowly, and his body disappeared. Chichi gasped, and the two turned to look at her.

"The ripple," she whispered. "It's gone."


	6. The Other Side

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The last chapter should be out in a few days 😉

He shut his eyes reflexively, as if he was turning to look at the sun. It wasn't cold on the other side of the ripple, just… cooler? As if central air was running in a vent above him. He opened his eyes, cautiously, and found out he was exactly right.

He wasn't in some hellish pit of despair or some inky black void, not by a long shot. He turned around, feeling for the ripple and finding it gone. The room looked very similar to the library he'd just been standing in, with only cosmetic differences. The bookcases were newer, clearly maintained well, and the books themselves were different. The fireplace in front of him had disappeared completely; it was just a doorway now.

"Chichi?" He called, wondering if the woman's abilities could still pick up his voice in this strange place. "Can you hear me?"

She did not hear him, but someone did.

Vegeta heard footsteps quickly approaching the open doorway, and he backed up several feet. This was the moment, he was sure. This would be the first time he saw a full fledged, humanoid apparition. His heart jumped, and a grin slid across his face. He couldn't have been prepared for what came around the corner.

It was himself.

Well, not entirely. The man he was looking at looked almost exactly like him, with a few differences. Vegeta was not out of shape by any means, but this version of him had muscles he'd never come close to achieving. He wore strange clothing, tight and blue and athletic, with a towel draped around his neck. Most importantly, this 'other' Vegeta was grinning at him evilly, maniacal joy sliding over his face.

"I've got you now you shape-shifting bastard," the being grinned. 

"What are you?" Vegeta asked, taking a step back.

"You picked the wrong  _ fucking _ house," it continued. It took a step forward, forcing Vegeta further back. "Well? Are you going to cower because you've been caught or are you going to fight like a Saiyan?"

"A Saiyan?" Vegeta asked, confused.

"That's what I thought. You don't know my race. Change your form, you don't deserve to wear it!" It dived forward, a powerful fist swinging straight for Vegeta's head.

Vegeta screamed, diving to the side just in time to avoid the fatal blow. Was this a demon? He'd never personally seen one. Maybe it was normal for them to copy the face of the person they were attacking to confuse them. It pursued him across the room and he dove behind a stylish couch, unsure what to say to stop this assault. Could you reason with spirits? Why did it hate him so much?

"Stand and fight!" It yelled at him. "Or tell me who sent you here!"

Vegeta heard footsteps down the hall, and another being appeared in the doorway. He stared at her, scarely believing his eyes.

"Bulma?" He asked, frowning. Her hair was different, and instead of the dress he'd left her in she was wearing a white lab coat over casual clothing. Still, there was no doubting it was her. 

She stared back a long moment. "Vegeta, what's going on?"

He was going to answer her, tell her to get back, that this thing in front of him must be a malevolent spirit that could go after her next, but the being in question answered her first. "I told you something was in the house, Woman! I've been hearing it for months. It's obviously a shapeshifter; that's why he looks like a  _ poor _ excuse for me, and why Trunks saw Chichi. Stay back, it could attack you."

"He doesn't look vicious to me," Bulma mused calmly, stepping up to put her hand on the attacker's shoulder to calm him. "He looks  _ scared _ ."

"It's a ploy for leniency, clearly. Now get out of here, I'm due some revenge. I don't tolerate spies."

Bulma snorted. "And what top secret information do you think he gathered on you? That you like your toast slightly overdone?"

"You heard him yourself in our room the other night," he argued. "That means he could have been there during… private moments." He pointed an accusing finger at Vegeta. "If you saw my wife naked I will rip out your entrails."

"I didn't!" Vegeta swore, holding up his hands.

Bulma approached him, ignoring the sound of protest her husband made. "Look, if you're innocent, I can help you. Tell me your name."

He blinked. "You… you said it already. My name is Vegeta."

The copy snorted angrily, but Bulma waved him off. "And what are you doing here?"

"I…  _ we're _ investigating Capsule Corporation. What happened to you? How did you get here? I just saw you back in the library."

She hummed, rubbing her chin.

"If your done with the interrogation, I'd like to  _ kill _ him," her husband snarled.

"Oh, knock it off, you're not killing anyone today," she said dismissively. "I don't think this is a shapeshifter. You know those weird readings I keep telling you about? Like last month in the Gravity Room, or yesterday when we were in my lab?"

"I heard him then, too. Clearly he's causing them."

"I'm not a shapeshifter!" Vegeta said, finally finding his voice. "I just walked through a ripple in a library. I don't know who you are or what's going on, I swear!"

"This is all definitely connected," Bulma said thoughtfully. "I have a theory, but we can't prove it. We need an ice cream sundae."

They both frowned at her.  _ "What?" _

She smiled. "It's the only gauranteed way to get Whis's angelic butt over here."

\-------------------------

"What does 'one hundred days' mean?" Chichi asked suddenly. She was sitting on the sofa near Goku, flipping idly through a book.

"Hmm?" He muttered sleepily.

"You and Vegeta, I keep hearing you say one hundred days. What does it mean?"

He laughed. "It's nothing. It's dumb."

"Come on, tell me," she insisted.

He shrugged, looking regretfully at the last, empty bottle of champagne. "Kay. When Vegeta first came to our foster home, he didn't talk to anybody. He didn't  _ like _ anybody. He was really angry all the time. But he was the only kid close to my age, so I wanted to hang out with him. He kept telling me to get lost and leave him alone. I told him to give me a chance because we could have fun and be brothers. He  _ really _ didn't like that, because he missed his real brother, Tarble. He got mad and said he'd never like me, even if he had to talk to me for a hundred days, which seemed like a  _ lot _ longer back then. He was wrong. A hundred days later, we were pretty good friends. So, when one of us needs the other to trust us, we say one hundred days. It means 'trust me, it'll work out'. Usually does."

Chichi touched his hand. "Aw, that's sweet. Did Vegeta get to see Tarble eventually?"

Goku shook his head. "No. Tarble's dead."

Bulma was sitting on the research table, facing the fireplace where Vegeta had disappeared nearly an hour before. "His brother died?"

Goku nodded. "Tarble and both of his parents. That's how he ended up with me. There was a car accident; a really bad one. Vegeta was really young, like five or  _ barely _ six. He doesn't remember too much, just a lot of blood. They left him with a small fortune, but no other family, so he went into the system. I uh… don't think he's got much left."

Bulma stared. "You said 'they'. 'They' won't be there, so he shouldn't go through."

Goku nodded. "He never talks about it, but…"

Bulma nodded. "I understand." Her watch beeped shrilly, and she grimaced. "That's it. That's an hour. Is the ripple back Chichi?"

The psychic shook her head sadly.

"Then he's officially missing. And there's nothing we can do about it."

\---------------

Of all of the things Vegeta thought he might experience when he stepped through that strange portal in the library, a balanced breakfast was not on the list. He sat at the quiet dining table covered with warm dishes of pancakes and eggs and sausages, poking nervously at the food on his plate. Part of him was still convinced this was hell, and he was being tricked. If he ate the food would he be stuck here?

His appetite wasn't helped by the two males glaring daggers at him. The copy of himself sat across from him, chewing a mouthful of food while he stared him in the eye threateningly. A boy with straight purple hair sat next to him, copying the man's sour expression perfectly while he sloppily munched on a chocolate chip pancake.

"So," Bulma said pleasantly. "What happened after the government worker locked you in for the night?" She was acting like her two angry family members weren't even there, but he still felt this was a form of interrogation. An unfair one with syrup and sugar.

"We set up our equipment to capture any voices or visual phenomena," he said. "Goku got hurt in this room, it like the air was heavier than it should have been."

"Goku?" Bulma asked, eyes wide. "Huh. I suppose it would make sense for there to be a second one of him also."

"Come on, Mom, this is bullshit!" Trunks said. "I don't trust this guy."

"I'm with the boy," Vegeta agreed. "No version of myself would ever have such a meaningless goal in life. Look how scrawny he is."

"He's human, Honey," she rolled her eyes. "Obviously. So, you said there's one of me where you come from?" She winked at him. "Bet you two are having fun."

Vegeta blinked. "I... we've never met before tonight."

She shrugged. "It wasn't  _ that _ long after Vegeta and I met that we made Trunks. Not on purpose."

"I was an accident," Trunks announced happily, fierce scowl softening a little.

Vegeta cast his gaze between the two adults. "You… you're really  _ married _ ?"

Bulma's smile faded slightly. "Yes, why?"

"No offense. You must be very different from the Bulma I've met. She's  _ infuriating _ ."

Bulma made an offended noise, but his doppleganger threw his head back and laughed. "Alright, Woman. There is a  _ small _ chance this might be me. A weak, pathetic version of course."

"Eat your damn pancakes, Vegeta."

\--------------------

Vegeta watched the staff warily as the strange blue being waved it over him. It beeped as if it were scientific equipment, but didn't look like it. Whis, as Bulma had introduced him, was studying him with a look that made him feel uncomfortably like a zoo animal.

"Hmm," the angel muttered. "You may be right, Bulma. This man  _ reeks _ of Universe Eight's energy signature."

"I knew it," Bulma snapped her fingers. "That's why we all seem to have parallels there. There must be a separate Earth with a slightly different history."

"That doesn't explain why he's a human," Universe Seven's Vegeta grumbled. "Why would my double not be born on Vegetasei?"

"Perhaps Saiyans do not exist in Universe Eight," Whis shrugged. "I've never been interested enough to look. Of course there's always the soul theory. Some gods believe the same souls meet in every universe, sometimes in different bodies or with different names or intentions."

Vegeta pinched the bridge of his nose. He was willing to believe a lot when he crossed the barrier, but this was pushing even his very open mind to it's brink. "You're saying… none of you are ghosts. This is a parallel universe, one where I  _ live _ at Capsule Corporation with Bulma. And I'm also not from Earth? How did you even meet?"

"That's a  _ long _ story," Bulma laughed. "I'm just not sure how you got here."

"Isn't that obvious?" Whis asked. He was met with blank stares. "It's Trunks' fault, of course."

"Hey, I didn't do anything," Trunks said defensively.

Whis sighed, waving his staff to show a picture of Trunks at a later age floating in the air. Universe Eight's Vegeta jumped back, staring at it.

"I meant the older one. How many trips did that time machine take from this location when you were dealing with Goku Black? Sometimes I think you're not even listening when we tell you that  _ time travel is forbidden _ . It can cause serious damage through time and space. In this case it seems to have thinned the barriers between the the seventh and eigth universes. It's gotten thin enough to see and hear the other side. Apparently it's even thin enough to cross at some points."

"This explains why we've been hearing things for months," Bulma said, crossing to her chalkboard. She drew a seven on one side and an eight on the other, then drew a line down the middle. "We've been catching glimpses of eachother."

"Months?" Vegeta asked. "We've only been here one night. Not even a full one."

"Right," Bulma muttered, tapping her chalk against the board. "I think time is being warped, too. Trunks when did you see Chichi in the library?" 

"Two weeks ago," Trunks answered.

She made a dot on Universe Seven's side and wrote 'two weeks'. "Universe Eight Vegeta, when did that happen for you?"

"Uh… early tonight. Maybe ninish? Here, I wrote it in my notes," he said, handing her a notebook from his pocket.

"Perfect!" She grinned, writing '9pm' on one side and drawing a line between the points. "So it looks like your Goku broke his leg around seven thirty. We had weird readings in the gravity room last month, I assume those are related. I bet all of these correlate. I don't know what to do about the weird activity we had last time, though. I'm not seeing enough evidence in here for all of it."

"Last time?" Whis asked curiously.

"This isn't the first time I thought my house was haunted," Bulma admitted. "We heard some weird things when Trunks was a baby. Vegeta wasn't around a lot then, and I mostly chalked it up to me being a sleep deprived new mom. But with all of this new evidence, maybe it was something else."

Whis hummed. "Wouldn't that correlate with the  _ first _ time Trunks messed around with time travel?"

Her jaw dropped. "Yes! It was right after that! Have you ever been to the house before, Vegeta?"

"No…" he said slowly, "but others have. The original owner swore the building was incredibly haunted, and maintenance workers over the years have reported the same thing. But all of those reports were from over a hundred years ago."

"A hundred years for you," Bulma said slyly, drawing more of her diagram. "Apparently about thirteen years for us. From what I see here those time frames would line up."

"Nevermind all of that," her husband grumbled. "Whis, can you send him back or not? I don't like looking at him."

"I don't know," Bulma shrugged, winking. "Might be useful to have two of you,  _ if _ you know what I mean."

Her husband sputtered. "Don't be vulgar, Woman!"

She laughed. "I'm kidding. One girl I don't want to cross is myself. In the same position I'd figure out how to crawl into the other universe to claw my own eyes out. Better keep my hands to myself."

Whis cleared his throat. "If the question is whether I can reopen the portal he came through, the answer is yes. If I had to I could even take him myself. The problem is I have no idea what  _ time _ he belongs to. Clearly I can't just throw him in now. The timelines aren't parallel. If I knew exactly the differential between them, I could open one much closer. At least to the right  _ week _ I imagine."

"Okay," Bulma said thoughtfully, looking at her diagram. "Leave that to me. It might take a little while, but it sounds like time is something we have." She took a moment to flip through the notebook. "What's this anomaly you jotted down just before you came through?"

"There was this weird 'ghost' thing floating through the halls. It had hands out in front of it, and this weird smile--"

"Trunks," Bulma snapped gently. "Did you and Goten use fusion in my house again? Last time you broke three doors and ate all of the food."

Trunks laughed nervously. "Sorry. We won't do it again. That was yesterday."

"I'll start there, then," she said solemnly. 

Vegeta stared at the accumulating mess of time and dates on the board. "That looks really complicated. I could be stuck here for years."

Bulma snorted. "You really did just meet me, huh? Don't worry, Cowboy. I'll get you home early enough to ride into the sunset with her."


	7. A Team

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all!  
This is the final chapter of Haunted, it's a bit longer than I had anticipated. But, the good news is, my procrastination means we get to see the final chapter with an extra piece from Bokunobotanist! She did a sweet Gochi drawing below. I realized last time I hadn't given actual addresses to her social media, so here they are:  
https://bokunobotanist.tumblr.com  
https://twitter.com/BokunoBotanist?s=17
> 
> As always you can follow me on Twitter at EBKFICS!
> 
> Thanks for reading and commenting, I appreciate it,
> 
> Embarassedbutkinky

Vegeta sat in silence in the library, tapping his fingers against the desk in front of him. Part of him thought that maybe Chichi could hear his tapping in the other universe. He couldn't be sure, but maybe it would alert them that he was still alive.

The other universe. Universe Eight, according to his hosts, meaning there were at least another seven. He closed his eyes, trying to stop the logical conclusions his sharp mind was trying to make.

Everything he'd seen at Capsule Corporation before crossing over had seemed like a haunting. Voices, recordings, apparitions, he'd written plenty of papers on phenomena just like it. But Capsule Corporation wasn't haunted.

Which meant everything he thought he knew might be wrong.

Certainly, the barriers between universes were thinner at this exact location, but surely the walls were pressed tightly in other spots. That meant people would see things, hear things, report suspicious activity. He ran through a list of the most haunted places he knew of and saw them in a new light. An explainable, quantifiable, non-paranormal light.

He covered his face. He had no real evidence, and for the first time in his life the existence of ghosts was in question. Which meant he had no confirmation of the afterlife. They might just be gone.

"What are you doing?" A voice asked.

He turned to find the Universe Seven version of himself leaning against the doorway with his arms crossed. Vegeta cleared his throat. "Nothing."

"Perhaps if you spent less time doing nothing you wouldn't be weak enough for my young son to defeat you."

He'd lost his initial shock about the presence of the other man. Now he was just an acquaintance with a familiar face, and not one he particularly liked. "Fuck off."

His double furrowed his eyebrows. "Excuse me? Who do you think you are? I've still got half a mind to kill you for trespassing."

"Do it then."

The man stared at him a long moment. He stepped into the room, sitting on the couch across from him. "The hell is wrong with you?"

"What do you care?"

"If it is a physical ailment it could affect myself at some point."

"It's not."

"Then maybe I'm disgusted to see my own face looking so pathetic."

"Fuck. Off." Vegeta repeated. "You would likely pause to take stock of your thoughts if everything you'd worked for in your life suddenly crumbled around you. I've made mistakes. Big ones. Costly ones. I've spent all but a few thousand zenni of the fortune they left me. And now ghosts might not even be real."

The man snorted. "Who cares?"

"I fucking do," Vegeta snapped. "All of this was for nothing!"

"Then why do it? It's a pointless hobby."

"Because I have to find them!" He was nearly yelling. "I said I would! My family is dead, and I swore I'd find them. I  _ saw _ them, I swear. Sitting in the blood and the glass on the road I know I heard them talking, even though they weren't moving. I  _ swore _ I'd find them again, no matter what it took."

Universe Seven's Vegeta went quiet a moment. "I did not know. How long has it been since they died?"

"I was five."

The other man laughed derisively. "Are you joking? Get over it."

" _ What _ ? How  _ dare _ you, you have no idea--"

"My father and mother are dead as well. They died on my home planet when it was destroyed. I was young."

Vegeta paused. "Tarble?"

"I haven't seen Tarble since he was an infant."

"I'm sorry."

"I'm not."

"How can you be so  _ callous _ ? They're dead. Gone, apparently, just nowhere."

"Yes, and we are not. I don't think about them often."

"How?"

"I stay busy. I train. I have a different family, now, one they probably wouldn't have approved of."

"Well, I don't have anyone else. This is what I do. I keep my promise."

"You've found the Woman, it won't be too long."

Vegeta snorted. "I don't care about--"

" _ Gods _ not this again. I got tired of hearing myself tell this lie, I'm certainly not interested in hearing your version. You can avoid her for a while, if you like. Stay busy, obsess over whatever you like, you'll keep going back. One night with her here and there, you start thinking about her when your mind should be on your progress, and your work suffers for it. Then the constant bouncing back and forth between living with her and the boy, using your need to train him as an excuse to stay for a short time… Just fucking marry her, it'll save you years. And it's not unpleasant. She's stubborn, but not boring."

Vegeta balked. "We're both talking about  _ Bulma _ ?"

He nodded.

"Well, too bad. I won't have time. This new breakthrough means I have to determine exactly the difference between ghosts and universes colliding--"

"The afterlife exists. Is that what you want to know so badly? It does. Now move on."

"Oh?" He drolled sarcastically. "And how would you know?"

"I've been dead twice."

Vegeta stared. "Excuse me? I didn't hear you right."

"You heard me perfectly well. I died the first time on Namek, shot down by the warlord I'd just turned on. I died again attempting to save the world, though my efforts weren't enough," he grumbled. "I went to hell both times after being judged. I'm not sure where I'm headed next time."

Vegeta scoffed quietly. "Uh, sure."

The man frowned. "What, you don't believe me? You're willing to accept the existence of the other world but not take eyewitness testimony from someone who's been there? You heard us say Whis was an angel, explain his abilities scientifically and then tell me again you don't believe me."

"You're serious? Heaven and hell exist?"

"Yes. More importantly, it doesn't matter where--"

Directly in the middle of his sentence there was a pop, and a man in orange clothing stood between them. Vegeta jumped back in shock, but his Universe Seven counterpart just looked annoyed.

"I've told you not to Instant Transmit into my home, Kakarot! You can knock on the front door like everyone else!"

The man rubbed the back of his head and laughed nervously. "Sorry! I heard Whis was around, I thought you might be going to train with Whis on Beerus' world. I didn't want to miss you."

"Goku?" Vegeta asked, staring at him. "Is that you? No, you've got to be the  _ other _ Goku, right?"

"Stop calling him that, his name is Kakarot," his double muttered.

Goku looked between them, looking confused. "Uh, Vegeta, there's two of you."

"No shit, Kakarot."

\--------------------

With the champagne gone and the night stretching on, Goku was starting to really feel the pain from his leg again. He tried to talk to the girls normally, but occasionally he'd squeeze his eyes shut tight and wince. Chichi tried to talk to him, and he clearly appreciated the distraction, but sometimes he needed to pause to work through an ache.

"Bulma?" He asked, after a particularly bad one. "What time is it?"

"Six in the morning," she responded. She was still sitting in front of the chimney, waiting, hoping.

"How long has he been gone?"

She shifted uncomfortably. "Too long."

Goku nodded sadly. "I don't… I don't know what I'm going to do if he doesn't come back. He's the only family I have left."

Chichi placed a hand on his arm. "I don't mean to be too forward, but we'll help you, Goku. If you need a place to stay or someone to talk to--"

"It's not that," Goku shrugged. "I just don't know who I am without him. You know what I mean?"

Chichi nodded. "I do. He'll be okay. He'll come back."

"How do you know?" He asked.

"Just trust me," she said. "It didn't take me a hundred days."

He smiled.

\----------------------

"It wasn't  _ that _ hard," Bulma laughed at Universe Eight Vegeta's open-mouthed shock.

He studied the equation she'd written out, trying to understand even a part of it. "How did you…  _ how?  _ How could you possibly already know how to get me to the right time? It's only been a few hours!"

Her husband snorted. "You really don't know her well. This is not surprising."

"Aw," Bulma said, nudging him. "I'll take that as a compliment. What do you think Whis, will this do it?"

The angel nodded, smiling softly. "Well done, Bulma. One portal to the Eighth Universe, coming up." He tapped his staff against the floor, and the air in front of them began to ripple.   


The ripple took on size and shape, and in moments they could see the could see the library he had started in. Another version of Bulma sat facing them, clearly unaware they could see her. She had her eyes closed, dozing fitfully. Goku was in a chair off to the far side of the room talking to Chichi, though Vegeta couldn't hear their conversation.

Vegeta grinned, glad they'd gotten the correct night. He'd been mildly worried he might get to the right place at the wrong time and end up trapped inside. He stepped forward, stopping only to throw a word of thanks over his shoulder.

"Hey!" Bulma called. "Don't be in such a hurry!"

"I should get back. They must think something happened to me."

"We have a few things for you to take back," Whis explained. He held out a small black stone, and the man took it, turning it over.

"What is this?"

"It would take me several days to explain the properties of it. Just believe me when I say this stone will help to widen the gap between universes. It should cut down on the 'activity' you've been experiencing, at least in the one location. It can be reused, if you find any other weak points. If may take time to repair any cracks caused by the time travel. Just keep the stone near it for a few minutes."

Vegeta nodded. "I understand."

Bulma hugged him, a beat too long, he thought. She looked up while she was still pressed against him, and their faces were only an inch apart. He subconsciously took a step back.

She laughed, letting go. "Sorry, I forget you're not my husband."

"Then try harder to remember," her real husband grumbled.

"Oh, don't be jealous," Bulma teased. "Here," she said, putting something in Vegeta's hand.

"A bean?" He asked.

"A Senzu Bean. You said Goku broke his leg, right? Give him this."

"Is it a painkiller?"

"No, but I think it might help them believe you. Everything you've seen here… I don't want them to committ you to an asylum," she winked.

"Alright, enough flirting," her husband grumbled. "Get back to your universe and stay there."

Vegeta smirked, nodding to him. Trunks waved goodbye from the doorway, and he stepped through the barrier.

As he stepped into the room he felt, more than saw, the ripple close behind him. Suddenly there he was, inside his own universe, and no one had noticed.

Bulma was asleep, her mouth slack against her propped up hand, and Goku and Chichi were whispering not to wake her up.

Vegeta cleared his throat.

Goku and Chicci froze, turning to look at the sound. Bulma woke with a snort, catching sight of him. She rubbed her eyes like she thought she was dreaming, but he still stood before her when she opened them again.

She jumped to her feet, stepping forward without hesitation and wrapping her arms around his shoulders.

"Don't ever fucking scare me like that again."

"Okay."

\----------------------

When Krillin arrived at Capsule Corporation, he had been expecting a lot more excitement. The two crews had been so sure they would capture something the night before, he was certain, they'd be celebrating by daylight. Yet, when he opened the door and they started to carry their bags out, the mood was somber, heavy, resigned in a way he couldn't deacribe.

Krillin followed Bulma as she carried her things to the van with Chichi in tow. "Ma'am? May I ask if you caught anything?"

She cast a look at Vegeta across the parkinglot and he nodded dejectedly. "We caught plenty," she asked. "But if I published any of it as evidence of paranormal activity, I'd be a liar."

"I… don't understand?" Krillin said, turning to Chichi as if she'd make more sense.

"The simple answer is no," Chichi said. "Capsule Corporation is not haunted."

"Well, just because you caught no evidence--"

"It's  _ not _ haunted," Bulma said firmly. "I'm beginning to wonder if any place is…"

Goku, meanwhile, was hopping in place next to the van, enjoying his pain-free and the substantial buzz left by the champagne. After Vegeta had explained the other universe in detail, he'd offered Goku the Senzu Bean as proof. Within seconds of swallowing the bean his leg had miraculously healed itself; enough evidence for all four of them this crazy story was actually true. They'd survived, but nothing would be the same after this.

"I don't know what you guys are so down about. I had a great night."

Vegeta snorted. "You're insane."

"I mean it," Goku said, clapping him on the back. "You're safe. I had some yummy stuff to drink. My leg is better. We met some new friends. I got to make out with Chichi, who gave me her number, by the way," he grinned, showing him the slightly smudged phone number on his hand.

"Yes, a fantastic night," Vegeta rolled his eyes. "I've only wasted billions of Zenni on a useless pursuit of the afterlife."

"Not useless. You said the other you told you heaven and hell are real. Does it really matter if ghosts are? That means you'll get to see your family again. We both will."

Vegeta shrugged, non-committally. He slammed his trunk closed and heard the other van starting up. He hadn't said goodbye to her, not officially. He also hadn't mentioned to the others that the two of them were married in the other universe. It still sounded absurd to him. He had decided to treat it as just another odd difference in that magic-filled, unexplainable place.

"So…" Goku said, nudging him, "shouldn't you catch her?"

"Who?" He asked blankly.

"Uh,  _ Bulma _ ? The woman you met who you're crazy about?"

"You don't know what you're talking about."

"I don't know a  _ lot _ , Vegeta, but I know you pretty well. You like her. Go get her number."

"No," Vegeta said, slamming the driver's side door shut behind him. "Now get in. We have a long drive ahead of us."

Goku sighed, rolling his eyes as he crawled up to sit next to him. "You know, this place isn't so bad. Are we  _ that _ attached to our apartment?"

\-------------------- 

Bulma was bored, and it was worse than usual. So ghosts weren't real. What was she supposed to do? Close up shop on her few paying customers and let the business fold? Maybe. She hadn't decided yet. It had been three weeks since Capsule Corp, and her life still felt like it hadn't recovered from the information she'd learned that night. In the meantime, she and Chichi both had bills to pay.

Not that most of the people she'd done jobs for actually  _ paid _ . Today she had in her office a Mr.Hal Peatem, a man she'd done overnight investigations for three times without ever being paid her agreed upon wage. He was back, still without the money he owed her, demanding she come back again. She was so bored, she might take him up on it.

"It's not my fault if your supposedly  _ professional _ company has failed to find any evidence of paranormal activity," Hal snapped at her. "I know what I've seen there. I won't consider any services rendered until you  _ catch _ something."

She opened her mouth, unsure if she was about to agree or teach him a few curse words he'd never heard before, when a knock sounded on her door. She paused, frowning. Chichi had run out for office supplies only ten minutes before, and shouldn't be back yet. She ignored Hal Peatem's protest and crossed the room, pulling the door open.

Vegeta stood directly in front of her, looking a little out of place. She didn't speak right away, and he caught sight of the client at her desk and took a step back. "I can come back later."

"No!" Bulma smiled, automatically grabbing his arm to stop him. "I'm just surprised to see you is all. Don't you live, like, really far away?"

"We moved," he shrugged.

"Why?"

"We couldn't afford our apartment anymore. Goku works as a physical trainer, he can get work anywhere, but I didn't have enough to make monthly rent anymore. We didn't really need so much space anyway."

"But why move here?"

He rolled his eyes. "Goku begged me to. Closer to Chichi."

She laughed. "Yeah, she'll be thrilled. I know that meet-halfway date they had last week took her all night. So why are you here? Not that I'm trying to get rid of you or anything, it's just--"

"I need a job."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"Have you… ever had a job before?"

He snorted. "No, not really. I've just worked on paranormal research my whole life, and now… I realized I don't have any other skills. I've done a lot of thinking this week, actually."

She nodded understandingly. "I know. I'm not sure I'll be able to stay open myself. My clients never actually pay, so--"

" _ Excuse _ me," Hal Peatem snapped, rapping on the desk. "I was under the impression that I had your attention as a paying client. Do I really have to wait for you to finish yammering with your boyfriend?"

Bulma was about to tell him off, but Vegeta spoke first. "Paying client, huh? So you're not one of the ones that ignores the payment of services?"

"I am an unsatisfied customer," Hal said, crossing his arms.

Vegeta stared at him. After about thirty seconds, Hal's conviction seemed to waver. His confident gleam faded, and he puffed out his chest. "I was given  _ no _ evidence of paranormal activity in my home."

"Good. You're welcome."

" _ Welcome _ ?" Hal spat.

"Yes. It sounds like they investigated, which is the service they get paid for here. I assume you're paid up in full for that investigation?"

"Not that one, or the two before it," Bulma grumbled.

"Then I doubt you'll be given another moment of her time without paying your bill," Vegeta said.

He bristled. "I won't be treated this way! I'll go somewhere else!"

Vegeta hummed thoughtfully. "That's strange."

"What's strange?"

"It's strange that a man who looks so professional is so willing to be sued for lack of funds by a small time paranormal investigation team. That's public record, you know. Everyone will know that you believe your house is so haunted that you hired the same company three times to prove it, and they found nothing. I hope no one questions your sanity, or worse, you business sense. Of course, if you're paid in full, confidentiality applies."

Hal opened his mouth and closed it like a fish, looking to Bulma. "Who is this man? I demand an explanation--"

"This is Vegeta, he works for Ectos," she announced, slapping his shoulder. "Collections department."

"This is absurd," Hal grumbled, pulling out a checkbook and filling one out quickly before tossing it on her desk. "I'll expect your team at my house this Thursday, 8PM  _ sharp _ , or I'll dock the next amount."

Bulma agreed, nodding to the man as he stormed out. She waited until the front door closed before she grabbed the check. She checked the amount and laughed excitedly. "Dude. You're  _ so _ hired."

"I have one more bargaining chip," Vegeta said, pulling something from his pocket. He held the small stone up for her to see, and she peered at it cautiously.

"The rock that Whis gave you? What about it?"

"What is that thing that Goku keeps saying about Chichi? She wants to 'help' people? I figure, if we find another hotspot, we can close it with this. Lots of paranormal teams offer investigations. None of them have 'ghost eradicating guarantees."

She smiled. "I like that. So we're actually  _ doing _ something. We can fix the errors in the barrier." She grabbed his hand. "Welcome aboard, Vegeta. The pay is shit."

He snorted. "Naturally. I did have one question about benefits."

She winced. "Yikes, benefits are pricey. What do you want?"

He grabbed her by the small of her back, pulling her flush against him as he kissed her. Bulma froze for only a second, quickly wrapping her arms around his torso and leaning into his embrace. They were alone, and they knew they'd stay that way for a little while, so they weren't rushing. Minutes passed, only breaking away to catch a breath before meeting again. Finally, he pulled his mouth away, not bothering to let her go.

"So, yeah, I thought instead of insurance we could do that, occasionally."

"I-- yeah we-- we could uh, that's a good trade," she said quickly, flustered. "Look, it's not that I'm complaining, but what brought all this on?"

He smirked. "I've…missed some years. Used them unwisely, at least, on something that ultimately didn't fix anything. I've decided to save myself the next few years to make up for it."

"Well, good," she said, taking his hand. "I think we could make a good team."


End file.
